Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Dense breast tissue

As directed by LD 1886 Resolve Directing Review of Strategies to Improve Communication between Patients and Physicians, a work group met in the Summer of 2012 to address the issue of breast cancer screening in women with dense breast tissue.


The work group reviewed breast imaging standards, the federal Mammography Quality Standards Act, and breast imaging reporting requirements and their impact on reporting of screening mammography results when dense breast tissue is noted by the interpreting physician.

The work group had a full discussion of issues associated with early detection breast cancer screening options for women with dense breast tissue, including input from both the patient and health care provider perspective.

The work group developed recommended strategies for improving communication between patients and health care providers when a screening mammogram demonstrates dense breast tissue. A copy of the LD 1886 Resolve Work Group Final Report and recommended strategies is available on the Maine CDC website.